Moab

  Moab, Utah
Friday, February 6, 2009

After Park City, I headed south to the small town of Moab, Utah.  This place is a mecca for the local red rock formations and outdoor adventure sports.   You can mountain bike on crazy rock formations or raft on the Green river, and on and on.  In a previous adventure, I had visited Arches National Park and really enjoyed the place.  Rather than stay in the parks, I decided to "city" camp in Moab itself.  It was really cold when I got there and just got colder through the night.  When I woke up the next morning, there was ice formed on the "inside" of the van rather than the outside!

The next day I visited Canyonlands National Park and Dead Horse Point State Park.  The scenery was breathtaking!  I've been to the Grand Canyon many times but this was unique.  Both of these parks have two distinct parts, the the top rim area where these pictures are from, and the lower canyons themselves.  You can access these via backcountry permits and you travel a dirt road and camp in the wilds.  I plan to check out the second part on the return journey, so stay tuned for a Canyonlands part 2.  For the meantime, just enjoy the scenary.











From the parks, I headed further south and crossed the border into Arizona.  On the way, I passed this peculiar house on the side of the road.  .  I looked it up on your web site Karin, but it wasn't listed.  I think I'll submit it as a fresh find.

http://www.roadsideamerica.com/location/








Southwest and Red Rock Fever:  I've traveled extensively throughout the Southwest and simply put, It is Awesome!  Every inch is a miracle of nature.  The thing is, after a week or two of touring, it all starts to blur into one big rusty red image of rock and erosion.  You can only take so much before your eyeballs and brain melt down.  Because of this, I have passed over countless cultural and natural wonders to be a little more expedient on the trip.  Too bad for you guys, but I thought I should put out a disclaimer so I don't get yelled at.  A perfect example is "Monument Valley" in Northern Arizona.  This pic of the van is from that area but I didn't stop for the main attraction so as to arrive in Phoenix at a decent hour.

Now it's on to Phoenix to hang with the family for a few days...

~JR